Standing firm, Syrian protesters reject military intervention, reports Bassel Oudat from Damascus The Eid marking the end of Ramadan was not a happy occasion for the people of Syria. Most of them did not celebrate it in a traditional way; no special desserts and no well-wishing. It was more like a time of mourning for the thousands of Syrians killed and tens of thousands arrested because of demonstrations. Also, it was overshadowed by a sense of uncertainty about an unpredictable future. On the first day of Eid, nine protesters were killed by security forces as they were leaving a mosque after Eid prayers, in an attempt to prevent them from marching in massive demonstration. On the first Friday after Eid, 23 people were shot by security forces in an attempt to disperse protesters in several Syrian cities. Over the past two weeks, the slogans chanted by demonstrators demanded the overthrow of the regime and prosecuting it, as well as international protection and a call for international monitors to confront the regime. Their banners also urged that the Syrian opposition unite as soon as possible. Last week, protests in Syria rose to a higher level. There were raids by security forces and death squads of mosques in the centre of the capital Damascus, violating the sanctity of these houses of worship and assaulting prominent religious clerics there. Also, the spread of video footage of the shelling of minarets of some mosques in Deir Al-Zor (north) and Homs (central) riled Syrians. Tens of thousands of demonstrators in towns surrounding the capital attempted to march onto the main squares in Damascus for sit-ins, but security forces and the army were firm in their response to suppress these protests, killings dozens of Syrians this week. The Syrian people are now calling for Arab and international intervention to protect them from death and abuse. The EU and US followed up punitive measures to pressure the Syrian regime, and at the end of last week approved sanctions banning the import of Syrian oil in response to military and security action against protests in Syria, which has so far killed 2,500 according to Syrian human rights monitors. Sanctions against Syrian officials, businessmen connected to the regime and financiers of suppressive campaigns were expanded. They further threatened that the next step may be banning investments in Syria. Syria produces around 377,000 barrels of oil per day, and Europe imports around 95 per cent of Syrian oil exports. Oil revenue amounts to nearly one-fifth of Syria's national income, and it is thought that the average Syrian citizen and not the regime will pay the price of these sanctions. Some in the Syrian opposition believe that the regime will continue funding its army and security forces at the expense of the people, by cutting expenditure on healthcare, education and other services. Al-Khayer added: "The democratic opposition parties in Syria welcome all forms of political pressure on the regime, as long as [Damascus] continues to use security measures and is deaf to the demands of the people. In principle, we welcome all forms of political pressure on the regime, its institutions, agencies and even leaders; we also welcome freezing their assets and accounts abroad. But we want these sanctions and pressure to be very careful and deliberate in order not to affect or harm the Syrian people." Washington targeted Syrian diplomacy. The US Treasury blacklisted Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Al-Muallim, presidential adviser Bothayna Shaaban and Syria's Ambassador in Lebanon Ali Abdel-Karim and added their names to the sanctions list, because they are "some of the staunchest defenders of the regime's actions" according to US diplomacy. The measure bans dealings with them and freezing any assets they have in the US. Meanwhile, the Syrian street has begun to talk daily about fractures in the ranks of the Syrian army, which over the past five months has been participating in suppressing demonstrations. The most critical breach was when Prosecutor-General in Hamah Adnan Bakur resigned to protest the killings and detentions taking place. In a video recording, Bakur detailed the reasons for his resignation and said that he has in his possession many accounts and documents which record the regime's illegal acts, and revealed the names of intelligence officers who suppressed and killed demonstrators. Official Syrian media said that an armed militia group kidnapped the judge and forced him to make these statements at gunpoint. The magistrate denied these claims in a second taped video broadcast by the media. France decided to intensify its contacts with Syrian opposition inside and outside Syria, declaring that it will lobby the Security Council to issue sanctions against Syria. French President Nicolas Sarkozy stated that Bashar Al-Assad has gone too far. Turkey, which has played a mediating advisory role to Syria, has frozen all contacts with the regime there. The US-Turkish initiative giving Syrian President Al-Assad a grace period of two weeks to genuinely implement required reforms failed, after which US President Barack Obama called on Al-Assad to step down. The possibility of international sanctions against Syrian are highly likely, which caused Russia to attempt to pre-empt Security Council sanctions against the Syrian regime which the EU and US are promoting. The Russian proposal urges Al-Assad to quickly implement reform and calls on the opposition to agree to dialogue with the regime. Moscow also sent an envoy to warn Al-Assad that time and the world community's patience are running out, and Russia will be unable to block international rage against him much longer. Although Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov admitted that "force should not be used against civilians in Syria," his country continues to block international sanctions against the regime. Moscow is worried about losing contracts with Syria pertaining to the purchase of strategic weapons now and in the future. The Kremlin believes it should maintain its geo-strategic ally in the Middle East. The Syrian opposition believes that Russia is likely to change its position and agree to a Security Council resolution imposing sanctions on the Syrian regime soon, especially after growing criticism in the Russian press of Moscow's policies and demands for a firmer stand. Russian civil society and political parties there also take the same position, and believe that a US-Russian deal is possible whereby Washington would partially assist Russian policies in Georgia and the Ukraine in return for a change in Moscow's position regarding events in Syria. At the same time, the Syrian opposition is trying to close ranks. DOPCA, which includes 12 opposition parties, independent figures and activists in the field, announced that it will hold a public conference on 17 September in Damascus to elect a temporary national council for the Syrian opposition. The council would be the alternative vehicle inside and outside Syria to transform Syria into a democracy. Syrian human rights sources said that the killings and arrests in Syria have reached record highs over the past six months, averaging an arrest every 15 minutes, someone going missing every hour and a death every two hours. Nonetheless, those who oppose the regime and demand its overthrow continue to emphasise that they are using peaceful means and refuse foreign military intervention. They welcome any moral support for their revolution and are confident in their capability to penetrate the regime, that differences within it will become serious fractures, and that economic hardships will weaken it. They assert that they will stand up to the violence until they reach their goal of establishing a democratic state that guards their dignity and guarantees the peaceful rotation of power.
